Monday, February 23, 2009

Jack Black and Jennifer Aniston announced the winner of the Best Animated Feature at this year's Academy Awards, and the big winner is WALL-E!! Although it didn't win Best Original Screenplay, and the short film preceding it, Presto, didn't win Best Animated Short, this was a big win for Pixar. Stanton had a great acceptance speech where he thanked Ed Catmull, Steve Jobs and John Lasseter, among others.

My producers Jim Morris and Lindsey Collins should really be up here to accept this with me. It's been such an inspiration to spend time with a character who so tenaciously struggles to find the beauty in everything that he sees. It's a noble aspiration to have at times like these. I dearly want to thank everyone that's been on this film: the cast, the crew, everybody at Disney and Pixar Studios. I have to single out Ed Catmull, John Lasseter and Steve Jobs for creating a cinematic safe haven where only a film like WALL-E could be made. To my wife Julie, my kids Ben and Audrey, I love you so much, and I guess I'd be remiss if I did not thank my high school drama teacher Phil Perry for 28 years ago casting me as Barnaby in Hello, Dolly! Creative seeds are sown in the oddest of places so, uh, thank you so much to the Academy for this.

It's worth noting that, before announcing the winner, Jack Black (who played the leading role in Kung Fu Panda) hilariously commented that every year he "makes a ton of money doing a DreamWorks movie and bets it all on Pixar!" Ha ha.

UPDATE: Here is the video of Jack Black and Jennifer Aniston presenting the award to Stanton, as well as the 2008 Animation montage:

It is also worth noting that WALL-E clips could be found throughout, and at the very end, of the "romance montage" shown during the Oscars.

There were, sadly, no other wins for WALL-E at the 2009 Academy Awards, but 6 nominations plus one for Presto is a very prestigious achievement by Pixar and by all who worked on the great movie from that famed lunch so long ago, through the premiere of WALL-E and over $500 million at the box office, and now through its success at the Oscars.

Congratulations to everyone at Pixar!

Here is a short video of Andrew Stanton after he walked off-stage and spoke to the "Thank You Cam":

Please Note:

Disney, Etc. is an independent news site not authorized, approved, or endorsed by The Walt Disney Company or any of its affiliates.All depictions of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy are trademarked by The Walt Disney Company.All other images may also be copyrighted by their owners.The text on this site is copyrighted by the author where applicable.Contact Adam at disneyetc@gmail.com with any questions.